Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

Influence of Charcoal, Manure and Fertilizer Soil Amendment on Growth of Grevillea robusta Nursery Seedlings

Shadrack Kinyua Inoti, Alice Adongo Onyango, Peter Murithi Angaine, Jesse Omondi Owino, Inoti, Shadrack Kinyua, Owino , Jesse Omondi, Angaine, Peter Murithi

Asian Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition · pp. 143–151 · Published 28 Sep 2023

10.9734/ajsspn/2023/v9i4200

Abstract

Soil amendment is vital especially in tree nurseries that are located away from the forest areas. Grevillea robusta seedlings are high nutrient demanders. An experiment was set up for a period of 8 months in 2021 at Egerton University, Njoro, Kenya to determine the effect of soil amendment on the early growth of Grevillea nursery seedlings. The experimental design was a CRD with 12 treatments replicated 3 times. The soil amendments included; manure, charcoal and artificial fertilizer combined with agricultural soil as well as their other combinations while forest soil was used as a check. The pot size was 9 by 12 cm in width and length respectively. Routine weeding and watering was done during the experimental period. The data was analyzed using SAS statistical package and the significance differences between means were separated using LSD at P<0.05. The results showed that forest soil and agricultural soil gave significantly (P < 0.05) the highest survival (84 and 81%) respectively compared with charcoal + manure + fertilizer combination (37%) which was the least. On the other hand, Forest soil had significantly (P < 0.05) the highest height (14.6cm) compared to all the other variables. Similarly, forest soil showed the highest root collar diameter (4.5 mm) which was significantly different from all the other variables measured except agricultural soil alone, agricultural soil + manure + fertilizer and agricultural soil + charcoal + manure which were similar. On the other hand, charcoal alone showed the highest root: shoot ratio (3.2), as well as root biomass which were significantly (P < 0.05) higher compared with agricultural soil + manure and charcoal + fertilizer. In conclusion, forest soil was superior in supporting the growth of both shoot, foliage and root collar diameter of grevillea seedlings. On the other hand, charcoal showed higher root to shoot ratio as well as root biomass. Forest soil is therefore recommended to be used in raising Grevillea nursery seedlings in areas nearby the forest. However, for areas located far away from the forest, a mixture of agricultural soil + manure + fertilizer or charcoal is recommended. Further research is recommended on using the same soil mixtures on other tree species which are less demanding in nutrient uptake.

Grevillea nursery seedlings soil amendments growth

References (29)

  1. 1 Statistical Procedures for Agricultural Research. [DOI]
  2. 2 Ameliorating physical and chemical properties of highly weathered soils in the tropics with charcoal - a review [DOI]
  3. 3 Length of growing season, rainfall temporal distribution, onset and cessation dates in the Kenyan highlands [DOI]
  4. 4 Combined Application of Manure and Chemical Fertilizers Alters Soil Environmental Variables and Improves Soil Fungal Community Composition and Rice Grain Yield [DOI]
  5. 5 Soil Fertility Dynamics after Clearing a Tropical Rainforest in Peru [DOI]
  6. 6 Effects of Charcoal as a Soil Conditioner on Citrus Growth and Vesicular-Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Development [DOI]
  7. 7 Effects of wood carbonization on soil and initial development of seedlings in miombo woodland, Zambia [DOI]
  8. 8 Porosity of roadside soil as indicator of edaphic quality for tree planting [DOI]
  9. 9 Liming agricultural soils in Western Kenya: Can long-term economic and environmental benefits pay off short term investments? [DOI]
  10. 10 Assessing Alternative Organic Amendments as Horticultural Substrates for Growing Trees in Containers1 [DOI]
  11. 11 Use and benefits of tree germplasm from the World Agroforestry genebank for smallholder farmers in Kenya [DOI]
  12. 12 Tree nursery and seed procurement characteristics influence on seedling quality in Oromia, Ethiopia [DOI]
  13. 13 Screening of tree seedling survival rate under field condition in Tanqua Abergelle and Weri-Leke Weredas, Tigray, Ethiopia [DOI]
  14. 14 Tree Seed and Seedling Supply and Distribution System in Uganda [DOI]
  15. 15 Modern Seed Technology [DOI]
  16. 16 Fundamentals of Soil Science [DOI]
  17. 17 Toward Sustainable Cultivation of Pinus occidentalis Swartz in Haiti: Effects of Alternative Growing Media and Containers on Seedling Growth and Foliar Chemistry [DOI]
  18. 18 Effect of Charcoal Application on The Early Growth Stage of Acacia mangium and Michelia montana [DOI]
  19. 19 Effects of Pot Size and Planting Media on the Early Seedling Growth Performance of Azadirachta indica A. Juss [DOI]
  20. 20 Effect of Small-Scale Farmers' Tree Nursery Growing Medium on Agroforestry Tree Seedlings' Quality in Mt.Kenya Region
  21. 21 Repetitive pruning ofSerianthesnursery plants improves transplant quality and post-transplant survival [DOI]
  22. 22 Effects of organic and inorganic fertilizers on early growth characteristics of Khaya ivorensis Chev (African mahogany) in nursery [DOI]
  23. 23 Effect of Temperature Treatments on Seed Germination and Seedling Growth of Jute Mallow (Corchorus olitorius) [DOI]
  24. 24 Effects of Seed Weights and Sowing Media on Germination and Early Growth of Afzelia africana Smith ex Pers [DOI]
  25. 25 Effect of Soil Mixtures on Early Growth Performance of Grevillea robusta and Cupressus lusitanica Seedlings in the Highlands of Kenya [DOI]
  26. 26 Manure soil amendment for Grevillea robusta seedlings in the Kenyan highlands [DOI]
  27. 27 Smallholder Nursery Practices in Southeast Sulawesi: Seedling for Planting and Business [DOI]
  28. 28 Silvicultural management of smallholder commercial tree plantations in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania : characterization and influencing factors
  29. 29 Adoption of Tree Nursery Practices as Strategic Enterprise at Millenium Villages Project, Siaya County, Kenya

Cited by 2

Enhancing germination and seedling quality in Terminalia myriocarpa van Heurck and Muell-Arg (Hollock) under nursery conditions

Milica Mary Nongrum, U. Sahoo, F. Musa · Forest Science and Technology · 2026

Showing 1 of 2 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.

Related research

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

18

Page views

0

PDF downloads

1

Outbound clicks

2

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.